Spain's New Tax Crackdown Makes It Personal

By

Ilan Brat

Updated Feb. 8, 2013 5:37 p.m. ET

MADRID—Faced with a yawning budget deficit, Spain is stepping up a more-direct approach to combat tax cheats: face to face.

Spanish tax authorities long relied on computing power to detect errors and fraud in filings, but lately they also have increased surprise visits to restaurants, beach-side parking lots and other businesses to ferret out tax evaders and delinquents. The in-person visits include actions from simply requesting...